Free Show: John King

Don't miss John King live at The Fire Pit Sports Bar & Grill's side bar - totally FREE!

In a musical landscape filled with overnight YouTube sensations and people being famous, for being famous, there is something very refreshing and trustworthy about an artist like John King, counts by the number of miles on his tires, rather than the number of “likes” to keep him in the game.

It is that drive, paired with raw talent and business savvy, that took this young man out of a little mountain town in Georgia’s Habersham County and into the spotlight opening for award-winning artists, playing over 150 dates per year, prior to having a booking agent.

King grew up working with his hands, building character as he built structures. “Those jobs made me who I am,” says John. “I started off working rock construction, rock masonry, putting rocks in fireplaces, stone furnaces, walkways at about 14 or 15. Although it was tough, it built muscle and character. It was great.”

Citing his parents as the main reason he got into music, John credits them for their influence. “They are the only reason why music was introduced as an early age.” John’s musical tastes were formed early on by the southern rock sounds of Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers Band, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC and The Black Crowes. As country music took a huge leap forward in the 1990s, John found himself in awe of one of country music’s greatest entertainers, Garth Brooks.

When it comes to the fans, the bar is set high according to John. “I want to be like Garth and these guys who treat their fans like royalty. That’s how we want to be. Like Kenny Chesney, if you’ve got a long career in country music it’s because your fans love you.”